Despite all the rhetoric passed off as fact by our media brethren about all the problems with Big Herba, recent numbers we've seen from a Council for Responsible Nutrition (CRN) survey suggest otherwise. In fact, far from it...

Even in the throws of the weakest economy since the Great Depression, 74 percent of American adults haven't changed their spending on supplements. Slightly more Americans surveyed by the CRN also referred to themselves as supplement users last year (65 percent) than in 2008.

What's more, consumers polled for the CRN survey believe supplementation and good health habits go hand-in-hand, the very popular and seemingly recurring theme of a lecture presented to the Congressional Dietary Supplement Caucus last summer by Dr. William Cooper. By margins as high as 15 percent, Americans who take supplements generally eat healthier diets, exercise regularly, schedule timely visits with their doctors and get a good night's sleep, compared to those who stay away from them.

Just as finding the best exercise program and the right foods for your body takes time and effort, so does choosing the safest and most beneficial supplements for your health. Unfortunately, you could make a very reasonable argument that it's much easier to find bad supplements -- for example, ones laced with steroids and titanium dioxide -- than good, safe and potent ones.

When you're ready to make a positive impact on your health for the long term, spend a few minutes learning more about what to look for in a supplement by reviewing CNCA's Nutritional Supplement Quality -- The Facts.

Natural Products Insider January 11, 2009